Sink the Bismarck
Johnny Horton
Written by Tillman Franks and Johnny Horton
Peaked at # 3 in 1960
Inspired by the 1960 film "Sink the Bismarck! "
In May of nineteen forty-one the war had just begun
The Germans had the biggest ship that had the biggest guns
The Bismark was the fastest ship that ever sailed the seas
On her deck were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees
Out of the cold and foggy night came the British ship the Hood
And ev'ry British seaman, he knew and understood
They had to sink the Bismark, the terror of the sea
Stop those guns as big as steers and those shells as big as trees
We'll find that German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismark ;cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismark we gotta cut her down
The Hood found the Bismark and on that fatal day
The Bismark started firin' fifteen miles away
"We gotta sink the Bismark" was the battle sound
But when the smoke had cleared away, the mighty Hood went down
For six long days and weary nights they tried to find her trail
Churchill told the people "Put ev'ry ship a-sail
'Cause somewhere on that ocean I know she's gotta be
We gotta sink the Bismark to the bottom of the sea"
We'll find that German battleship that's makin' such a fuss
We gotta sink the Bismark ;cause the world depends on us
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismark we gotta cut her down
The fog was gone the seventh day and they saw the mornin' sun
Ten hours away from homeland the Bismark made its run
The admiral of the British fleet said "Turn those bows around
We found that German battleship and we're gonna cut her down"
The British guns were aimed and the shells were comin' fast
The first shell hit the Bismark, they knew she couldn't last
That mighty German battleship is just a memory
"Sink the Bismark" was the battle cry that shook the seven seas
We found that German battleship was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismark 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
Yeah, we found the mighty Bismark and then we cut her down
We found that German battleship was makin' such a fuss
We had to sink the Bismark 'cause the world depends on us
We hit the deck a-runnin' and we spun those guns around
We found the mighty Bismark and then we cut her down
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Prior to transcribing this, I had been under the impression that the
Bismarck had been sinking Allied shipping left and right for at least several months.
After all, Horton *does* say "makin' such a fuss." Then I saw a TV documentary of how
the same folks who had located the Titanic had now found the Bismarck. Contemporary
footage was interspersed with archival photos and I got a clue which I then researched
further on the Internet. The TRUTH is that the Bismarck was sunk on her maiden voyage!!
She finished her sea trials and put out on her first mission on May 19, 1941. The
British, thanks to a lucky strike on her rudder by a torpedo from a bi-winged Swordfish
aircraft, stopped her before she could reach the Luftwaffe air cover flying out from
occupied France. After an hour and a half of relentless pounding by several British
ships, she sank-although some say she was scuttled (a la the Graf Spee later n the war.)
The date was May 27, 1941 and Bismarck had been operational for only EIGHT DAYS!
With collaboration from: Paul Knipp